


Legacy

by Nelsbels



Category: Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), Star Wars, Star Wars - All Media Types, Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens, Star Wars Legends - All Media Types, Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe - Star Wars Setting, Angst and Humor, Assassins & Hitmen, Bounty Hunters, Droid Love, Enemies to Friends, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Force Bond (Star Wars), I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, Jedi, Lineage & Legacies, Loss of Virginity, Master & Padawan Relationship(s), Nightsisters (Star Wars), OC, Pre-Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Rey Kenobi, Reylo - Freeform, Sith, Slow Burn, Star Wars References, Witches of Dathomir
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-03-07
Updated: 2018-04-19
Packaged: 2019-03-28 06:41:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 5
Words: 15,117
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13898469
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nelsbels/pseuds/Nelsbels
Summary: Summary:Found by chance on a desolate planet Jakku by a former Darth with a grudge against the Sith and the Jedi alike, little Rey becomes his reluctant apprentice.Bewildered and overwhelmed she is taken to her new master's home world to be trained as a perfect assassin.On Dathomir, a harsh planet covered in marshland, her life changes irrevocably but she finds solace and family in the most unlikely of places in her master and mentor, Maul's childhood droid Deenine.She discovers her heritage, past histories and legacies.Nothing is ever just black or white.Years later, as an assassin with an alias of Ghost, she meets the master of the knights of Ren.Worlds collide.





	1. A Worthy Apprentice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maul's ultimate goal has been to end both the Sith and the Jedi.  
> Having lost his chance at vengeance, only one thing remained, to seek out a worthy apprentice.  
> He drifts from world to world for years searching until finally, by chance, he lands on Jakku.

* * *

 

After the death of his enemies and the demise of his rival, Maul drifted from planet to planet trying to hold onto his last and sole purpose.

To find a worthy apprentice.

To train them, to teach them how to hone their skills and raise them to greatness and in turn pass on his knowledge and his legacy. So then one day when they surpass their master he can die an honourable death in battle and finally find _peace_. 

 

* * *

 

Some years pass and he finds himself on a desolate planet Jakku, only passing through to refuel his ship.

Landing his ship on this blackwater planet he sneers at having found himself in this predicament. Jakku was a graveyard. Through the force he could feel the remnants of death and destruction, an echo of negative energy from the battle that took place a life time ago. It is where the Empire took its last stand against the New Republic before its ultimate demise.

Exiting his ship he kept the hood of his cape low and wore a scarf to obstruct his face from view, however his dark attire still got him noticed. Dark clothing had no place in the desert.

Half way through the process of refuelling his ship Maul feels it. A tremour in the force. He turns to look in the direction of the disturbance, not 5 miles north east from where he stood. He concentrates on it trying to decipher what it might be.

The raggered merchant scavenger stares at him expectantly for payment and huffs.

"I don't have all day off-worlder. You either pay or scram to whatever hole you crawled out f..." the man is suddenly cut off from finishing his sentence by a dark hand gripping his throat with meaning. Turning his attention from the never ending desert to the scavenger in front of him. Holding him still with a death grip Maul grounds out his next words.

"You will finish refuelling my ship and guard it until i come back" to which the merchant goes slack and repeats the words back to him.

Smirking cruelly he adds "And you will let me use your speeder. For free."

Turning away after releasing the dirty merchant Maul contemplated on what it may have been. A lost Jedi or Sith holocrone perhaps that emitted a signal once a strong force user was nearby? Wanting to be found. Or an untrained force sensitive inhabitant? _Unlikely_...and yet the curiosity ate at him. He was not a very patient man either.

Before thinking better of it or without wasting any more time Maul takes the speeder off the merchant and zooms off in the direction of the disturbance he felt in the force earlier, towards what he later realised was a spark of a force signature in the desert. It only grows stronger as he gets closer. 

He drove at break neck speed towards the dunes in search of the force wielder. Has he finally found someone _worthy?_

He drove towards it like it was a beacon.

 

What he finds is a dirty young human girl no older than 7 years of age climbing inside a fallen old Empire ship. She was high but was descending steadily which made him wonder how high she climbed initially. 

 _Gutsy_ Maul mused.

But a scavenger nevertheless.

It was dark and eerily silent but the holes high up in the fallen ship provided some illumination almost like god's fingers through the clouds. He sneers and contemplates on how to proceed keeping to the shadows but almost pacing like a predator.

However the scrawny girl seemed to have sensed his dark presence which alarms her and makes her miss a step. Crying out as she begins to slides down, falling and trying to grab onto something, anything to prevent herself from plunging to her death.

She manages to grab a hold of a protruding leaver. Dangling at least 30meters from the ground she tries to secure her hold and uses her feet to stabilise herself once more which she manages to do with some difficulty.

This was only her second day in the field and she couldn't fail now nor could she die before her parents returned for her, thought the willful little girl.

Watching her wearily Maul felt her light shine bright like any innocent child's would but then he senses it. _There_ , a spark of darkness within it, most likely born from difficult life and strife.

She was afraid to go down but at the same time she was getting tired, the part she retrieved was already securely tucked away in the bag tied behind her back. It was weighing her down.

"Who's there?!" She shouted more confidently than she felt as she made her slow descent with her trembling limbs. Straining to keep herself stable. Was it another scavenger? Did they come to _steal_ from her again?

Maul making his mind up steps out into the light and she finally sees his face.

Her face falls and a gasp gets stuck in her throat which constricts, chest tight and heart skipping a beat from the horror that she sees and the fear that she feels.

A nightmarish face.

Red skin with black tattoos, glowing yellow red eyes which stared at her, scrutinising her. She recognised him. He was the dark clad warrior that came for her in her dreams, beckoning her to follow him. The same dream she saw for the past few months, over and over again, but increasing in frequency for the last two weeks. 

His presence was intimidating but never threatening. In the dream he always extended his right hand towards her, eyes unreadable, promising her strength and glory. 

She misses a step again which makes her slip and feels herself fall backwards. Turning mid air while a scream tears itself from her throat as she neared the hard deck of the imperial ship fast.

 

But she never hits the ground.

 

She hovered a few inches from it. Her eyes wide in fear and disbelief of what just happened. Trying to stand but unable to move she puts on a brave face. Must not show weakness nor fear. It only makes it _worse_ she recounts to herself. A tough lesson she learnt in her three years on Jakku, but she's still a child and there's only so much she can do.

Paralysed she floated upright first before slowly flying towards the cloaked figure as he walked towards her. She came to hover just a foot from him in mid air, her feet dangling. Frightened out of her mind she tried to struggle again. Her fright turning swiftly into anger. Willing her limbs to move with her mind, cheeks flushing from exertion. 

His eyes widened seeing her struggling but still able to move against his tight grip. She only moved a few inches but it was impressive in itself because it was a difficult feat. A force sensitive adult would struggle to do what she managed. It pleased him.

She is strong with the force but he could tell that she was unaware of this gift she had.

He told her to keep still in a grave voice and finally moves to take off her goggles which obstructed him from looked into her eyes. Wide hazel eyes of a frightened child stared back at him unable to look away but that wasn't all he saw.

He saw a resemblance.

 

He saw _his eyes_ staring back at him.

 

Furthermore there was something familiar in her force signature which was easier to distinguish at a closer range. His instinct told him that he couldn't be wrong and that indeed she must be somehow related to his old nemesis, his rival. The question as to how and why this child, a clear relative of his, was on this forsaken desert planet was lost to him but he would find out.

A mirthful grin spread on Maul's face showing his sharpened teeth.

Oh this was _perfect_ , he mused to himself.

The Jedi knight would have been so pleased to hear that he took on a relative of his as an apprentice that he'd be rolling in his grave right about now.

A foreign rumble started in his chest and before he could tamper it down he started laughing for the first time in two decades. It was deep and dark but full of humour.

This both terrified and confused the child more.

Finally he stops laughing, straightens to his full height and says with his deep voice resonating in his chest and a mirthful smirk on his face:

'What is your _name_ girl?'

* * *

 


	2. Heritage

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maul contemplates Rey's heritage and plans to take her to Dathomir to train.

* * *

 

_“What is your name girl?”_

 

* * *

 

 

The child stares at him dumbly until finally she manages to croak out “Rey”.

“Rey…I am Maul and from now on, your master” he says as he releases her from his force hold. 

Surprisingly to Maul, she doesn’t go easily. She is a willful child from the beginning and tries to fight him to the point where his patient’s starts to wan dangerously and he questions his decision.

He tells her that he knew her grandfather, which quiets her immediately but then sends her into a spiral of never ending questions. She is not trusting, her time on Jakku has taught her that much.

 

Much to his annoyance she questions everything.

 

"How did you know my grandfather?" Rey questioned bewilderingly, craning her neck to look up at the off-worlder with scrutiny. 

"We fought in the last great war." Maul said without hesitation but tried to dodge that question all the same, hiding the details of them being on opposing sides at the beginning. He tried to divert her attention by telling her of her resemblance to him which awes the little scavenger. 

She learns that she shares her grandfather’s eyes and _force signature?_ That his name was Obi-wan Kenobi and that he was a _warrior_ , a _Jedi knight!_  She’s awestruck but still mistrusting. 

Rey has heard of the legends about the Jedi, despite the fact that most inhabitants of this desolate planet preferred to stay oblivious of the outside world and as limited as the resources here were they weren’t completely barren nor it’s people ignorant. She was taught how to read basic by charity workers that frequented Jakku once every three months, if she was lucky. The limited text she found she devoured. She is always eager to learn, languages being her favorite subject but also a necessity for survival and trade.

But most importantly it was the storytelling that Jakku was famed by. Despite the fact that most people on Jakku were barely literate the culture of storytelling was passed on by word of mouth and is something that will never die out, for it was not only entertainment in harsh times but also lessons if listened to closely.

Once a fortnight Rey would journey to the neighboring town, Tuanul that was located in Kelvin Ravine. It was populated by members of the Church of the Force, who eschewed modern technology and instead created their own in order to bring themselves more in touch with nature. Something that Rey thought was _very silly_ on a planet such as this, a desert void of life.

There was a temple where an elder by the name of Lor San Tekka would tell tales of the old. He divulged stories of myths, legends and history over a burning pyre under the shining stars, most of them being about the legendary Jedi. She sat among the crowd enamoured in every story, hanging on every word that left the priests mouth. There, sitting on the ground warmed by the fire Rey dared to dream of a better life. A life filled with not only waiting but also that of adventure, love and discovery.

So for this dark stranger that stood before her to claim she was _related_ to one, felt like an impossible dream come true.

Maul proceeded to tell her that as far as he knew Obi-wan did not have a family unless he had one secretly, which made Rey frown in confusion. _Why?_

 

What he does not tell her is that the only person Obi-wan cared about in a romantic sense was the duchess Satine who he killed to take revenge against his nemesis. The time line was confusing but despite himself he was curious to find out. His initial thought being that perhaps something did happen between the two and as any noble lady who had a child out of wedlock was whisked away under the pretenses of illness until the birth of the child. The child would then be taken away, to be adopted into another family, all ties cut.

He would not be surprised if that was the case. Perhaps not common but a well-kept secret among the nobility. _Nobility_ he scoffed out of disgust and realisation that Rey could be the _granddaughter_ of the passed _duchess_.

Perhaps the Jedi warrior wasn’t that much of a _hermit_ after all, Maul snorted to himself, at least not all of the Jedi’s miserable life but he had no doubts that Kenobi had no knowledge of the child that he inadvertently sired with the duchess… _if_ that was the truth.

 

There was little to no chance that Rey’s parents were still alive, as they would have returned for her by now so he tells her as much. However, if by some miracle the parents were still alive he wasn’t going to give his apprentice up so easily nor would he reveal her heritage, he thought darkly.

He hoped to mold her in his image, as it was easier to shape children than adults. Just like he was at the beginning by Palpatine but he was not his former master nor did he hold any desire to be a cruel teacher like his was.

His mother gave Maul to Palpatine to be trained as his apprentice when he was barely four years old, so that her baby could escape slavery, not realizing what would become of him. Due to the immense amount of potential in the force surrounding the Zabrak child, Palpatine agreed. The training Maul endured was nothing like you could ever imagine for someone of his age. Any sign of hesitation or a mistake was severely punished, and any hint of mercy rewarded with cruelty.

 

Rey’s eyes well up with thick tears and she hiccups from the strain of trying to keep them in, her vision blurring. Her fears echoed back to her by this dark stranger who she’s only just met, about the death of her parents and can’t help the helplessness she feels. She doesn’t want to believe it, wants to shout in denial and try to hold onto any thread of hope that there may be that perhaps somehow they are still out there and missing her, their baby girl. 

“You know it is true, you have always known, only hid the fact to protect yourself.” Maul didn’t need to look into her mind deeply to know this. He is not unfamiliar with empathy but it is something he’s not accustomed to in showing after a lifetime of torture under his previous master, which took decades to recover from. It was a wound that could never fully heal, but she needs to hear it to give her a final push to follow him and to unleash her potential.

He raises his hand to rest it on top of her bent head briefly and tells her to follow him, that he will train her and give her purpose. Maul then turns and advances towards the speeder left outside.

She stays routed to the spot crying into the crook of her elbow, fists clenched, but as he proceeded to sit on his speeder she rushes towards him.

They ride in silence back to the Niima outpost. Rey still weeping and hiccupping quietly behind him. He says nothing in regards to her dampening the back of his cape.

 

They leave Jakku within the hour after she gathers her meager possessions.

 

He sets the course to Dathomir. His home planet. _There_ he will train her.

They make a couple of stops along the way on a couple of planets in the outer rim that are low key, to restock and take short breaks for food. He feeds her well. She’ll need to eat a lot more to no longer be as bony as she currently is. She’ll also need her energy for the rigorous training he’s going to put her through.

He never considered himself having immaculate table manners but watching her devouring her food made him look like a noble lady.

“Chew your food before swallowing or you’ll choke you little twerp” Maul chastised, feeling ridiculous as if he was some kind of mother hen but he guessed it was going to be part of the job description for having a young apprentice. He prayed for patience.

Rey marveled at all of the new food she ate. Savoring the taste but unable to stop herself from practically inhaling it all, stuffing her cheeks adorably which made the waitress smile. She was always hungry while living on Jakku because food was scarce and you had to work hard for it. In comparison to this the rations could hardly qualify as food but she couldn’t be picky on the desolate planet, you ate what you could get.

She especially loved the sweet treats, which was a whole new experience for her. 7 years old meets sugar, a match made in heaven.

After being reprimanded by her new master she stops to observe him eat and tries to imitate him, to an outside onlooker the scene would look almost sweet.

Watching her observe him made Maul remember what it was like to be a child and wanting desperately for your master’s approval. He remembered being taken to an ice-covered planet Mygeeto by Palpatine. Maul ran up a mountain and back down with superior balance and control, he came down expecting praise from his master but the Sith Lord lifted him with the Force and tossed him into a vast, icy lake. Maul struggled to get out, while his master watched on and refused to answer any call for help. He feared for his life, but he learned that he must turn his fear into anger, therefore using it to swim hard to the shore. Still, Palpatine did not praise him, instead looking on coldly he carried on walking as if nothing happened.

“Are you…alright master?” Rey questioned innocently seeing a dark look pass his face as he stared off into space, deep in thought all of a sudden. The word master still foreign to her.

Snapping out of his dark reverie Maul tells Rey to finish eating and they leave promptly.

As they entered Dathomir’s atmosphere Rey asked where they were as her little feet dangled in the co-pilot seat, her eyes glued to the vast marshlands like planet.

“This is Dathomir. My home planet.” Maul told her solemnly.

 

Despite the fact that initially she was curled up into a ball with a tear-streaked face when they left Jakku her sadness was momentarily forgotten by the new experiences. She was so overwhelmed seeing so many different worlds in a space of only a few days. Her excitement and wonder palpable. She has never seen so much green or so much water in her whole little life. And sitting in the co-pilot seat had her over the moon, almost buzzing on the spot! Rey once dreamt of being a brave pilot and flying away from Jakku after reuniting with her family.

At night tucked away in a corner of a bunk inside one of the rooms of the ship, Rey cried softly. Her little sobs muffled by the pillow while she hid under the woollen blanket covering her completely. Feeling helpless and completely alone in this world while desperately clutching her little make shift doll to her chest she prayed for sleep.

Numerous times she wondered if she made the right decision. What if her parents were sill alive and were unable to come rescue her due to an unforeseen cause? What if they were already there looking for her? What if her new master convinced her to leave with him just to hurt her later on?  _What ifs_ eating at her anxious young mind. 

As Rey stood inside the fallen empire ship on their first meeting she couldn’t help the feeling of abandonment creeping up on her suddenly as she herd him settle on the speeder readying to go. Despite the fact that he was a stranger, an intimidating stranger at that, all that he has told her rang true in her mind, she felt no lie in his voice. The pressure of his hand on top of her head, a slither of comfort, of kindness she was so desperate for was the final push she needed.

So like a starving stray that was given food she followed him blindly.

 

* * *

 

_Kindness, how ever small, is a language that the deaf can hear and the blind can see._

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm trying to stick to the canon as much as i can but will diverge at some points.  
> i'm also staying mostly true to Mauls background. He has always fascinated me and i feel that Star Wars ruined his character from the point he was cut in half by Kenobi. So much potential lost! He's so unique in his appearance and background! He was trained to be a perfect assassin yet his character wasn't given justice. I really hope that i do on some level...(runs away to hide face in shame)
> 
> I hope you have enjoyed my story so far! It's going to be a bit of a slow burn but not too much i promise :)  
> Reylo to come <3 sit tight!
> 
> *shakes tin can bashfully for comments and kudos for encouragement* :)


	3. Dathomir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They finally arrive on Dathomir, Maul’s home planet. Rey makes a new friend and as she settles in the village of the former Nightsister’s clan she starts to slowly uncovers their secrets and legacy.

* * *

 

_“This is Dathomir. My home planet.”_

 

* * *

 

They landed at sunset inside an impressive stone fortress that bordered with the dense swampland. The northern part of the fortress was a towering stonewall, a temple of worship carved into the side of a dark mountain. Grand pillars in the form of statues stood proud as if guarding the entrance.  

Maul explained to Rey that they were the two Dathomiri witches, Arya and Eries, that formed the Nightsister's clan and that the temple was built to honour the first matriarch, Allya, whom created the very first Dathomiri witch clan centuries beforehand. 

The warriors stood at 5 meters in stature clad in armour, holding an ancient weapon, the double bladed sword called the Zhaboka, in one hand and large parabolic dishes in the other with fire roaring within them. The parabolic dishes acted like reflectors to collect energy from a distant source to fuel the fire, which created the immortal flame.

A flame that has never been extinguished since the creation of this temple by the first members of the Nightsister’s clan nor after their massacre.

"Massacre?" Rey echoed her master’s words, a heavy realisation dawning upon her in relation to why this village seemed uninhabited. It was difficult not to dwell on that thought as she looked around to see most of the huts destroyed long ago, only a few left standing out of a dozen. No blood marred the grounds as it was washed away by the rain, in the many years that passed.

Maul answered her question before she had a chance to formulate it.

"They were killed by the Empire before its demise because the clan was perceived to be a threat. Strong the Nightsisters were. I burned their bodies on a pyre as per tradition and buried their ashes below their sacred temple." He paused contemplating if he should continue his train of thought and before thinking better of it he said:

"My mother was the last Nightsister's matriarch." The words hang heavy as they left his mouth, realising that he hasn't thought of her or his passed brothers in a long time.

Rey looked up at her master’s stoic face, emotionless as it was his eyes betrayed him, they held a hint of something that vanished as soon as it appeared. 

And from that moment on she knew that they were both alone in this vast world. He no longer had a family too. 

His words made Rey sad but at the same time this discovery and what it meant subconsciously tethered her to him. It was a child's innate desire to form bonds, to connect. 

She wanted to reach out and hold his hand in reassurance, for him to know that she understood him just a little and that he wasn't alone any more. 

Before she lost her nerve she lifted her arm to grab his gloved hand but only managed a couple of his fingers as his hand dwarfed her own little one. She squeezed them none too gently due to her nervousness, her cheeks colouring from embarrassment. Looking away she let go a few seconds later out of fear of rejection. 

Maul stood dumbfounded, eyes widening slightly as he turned his head in silence to look at his hand where she clutched it earlier and didn't know how to react. The moment was dispelled as a KX-series security droid emerged from one of the huts to greet them.

“Master Maul, welcome back.” It spoke and then its vision dropped to the humanoid child standing awkwardly next to his master staring back at him in wonder.

“Oh, hello there human child, you must be master Maul’s new apprentice. I am TD-D9 but you can call me Deenine.” standing at over 2 meters in height Rey had to crane her neck to look up at Deenine. Before she had a chance to reply to his greeting Maul told him to help her settle into one of the huts, pretending as if nothing happened. 

"We rise at dawn to start your training. Get some rest." With these gruff words they parted and Maul moved to enter one of the huts that was still standing.

Rey was ushered by Deenine into her designated hut to unpack, the hut that would be her new home from now on and the foreseeable future. _Home_ , Rey wasn’t sure how to feel so she busied herself by unpacking what modest possessions she brought with her. She placed the little pot that held her desert flower on the windowsill by the bed side first.

Deenine noticing the flower asked her where it was from as he stood straight observing her in the middle of the hut. The ceiling of the hut was high enough so that he didn’t have to bend his robotic head which would have looked comical otherwise.

“Jakku” was Rey’s simple reply as she lowered her head wondering if he would judge her for it as most considered the inhabitants of that desolate planet to be less than slaves, garbage pickers as she recalled some of the names the off-worlders called them.

“Is that where master Maul found you?” Deenine asked carefully to which Rey only nodded meekly. Rey inhaled a deep breath and let it out slowly before determinedly turning towards the droid with questions in mind trying to change the subject, not wanting his pity.

“How do you know my master?”

The question made Deenine pause for a moment, allowing the change of topic and contemplated if he was allowed to diverge the information about his master’s earlier years or not but came to a conclusion that revealing some of it wouldn’t be detrimental.

“Before my memory chip was integrated into this KX-series security droid which was originally created for use in the Galactic Empire armed forces, I was a duellist elite droid assigned to train master Maul from infancy on a volcanic world called Mustafar.” Rey listened intently and with child wonder as Deenine explained what a volcano was after she threw him a curious look.

He went on to tell her about how he looked after him in his childhood years, essentially being his caretaker, teacher and eventually becoming his trusted friend too. Recalling with fondness how Maul hated him in the beginning which made Rey giggle trying to imagine a menacing infant Maul glaring at the droid with his chubby little fists clenched by his sides.

“However, I was destroyed by master Maul’s former master.” Deenine proceeded solemnly but then perked up a little as he recounted how master Maul tried to save him in secret and transferred his memory chip into the KX-series security droid because his previous body was unsalvageable. From then on they couldn’t interact unless risking discovery by Maul’s cruel master, and so Deenine watched Maul grow into a masterful fighter from the shadows. Only reuniting many years later when he came back for Deenine to bring him to Dathomir and making him the new grounds keeper and caretaker of the former Nightsisters village.

 

Before Deenine left Rey he showed her how to use the attached traditional bathroom. It was covered in textured dark tiles and it used filtered water from the nearby lake. This bathroom seemed more complicated than the simple fresher on the ship but she’d manage. It consisted of an archaic toilet and shower with the shower head attached to the ceiling creating a waterfall effect, frosted glass separating the two. Simple but tasteful.

He also showed her where her new clothes were stored as per request of master Maul before they arrived on Dathomir.

When Deenine left Rey she didn’t waste time and took advantage of the shower. The cascading water felt like heaven to Rey, a little cool but soft, free of chlorine and chemicals. Feeling a little guilty for using so much water since water was a precious commodity on Jakku she didn’t linger in the shower for much longer and got out to dry herself and changed into clean and comfortable sleeping wear.

The hut was considerably bigger than the AT-AT fighter that Rey lived in on Jakku and had built in windows which let the sun light in during the day.

Turning on the solar powered lights before closing the curtains as the night fell she marvelled at her new made up room. _Hers._ Thisthoughtmade her feel giddy despite the earlier apprehension of knowing that this hut once belonged to a murdered female warrior. Pushing the thought from her mind Rey tried to concentrate on the present. Feeling a little silly she jumped on top of the bed, lightly bouncing. A giggle bursting out of her from the act. It felt like luxury compared to the sleeping bag she used to sleep in on the cold hard floor of the fallen fighter. As she lay there spread out on her large feather bed she tried to image a normal life in a different life time. She stayed like that for a time, lost in thought and eyes glossy until she looked up at the shelves above her head and saw a stack of books.  _Texts!_   Excitedly she sprang up from the bed to retrieve them. She skimmed the titles of the books until one seized her attention. 

"The book of Law." Rey read aloud in the dim light. Before opening the book she looked around for another light source, a flash light, _anything_ so that she could see better and found thick white candle sticks with matches on another shelf adjacent to the books. Lightening one she held it carefully in front of the book in her lap and began to read.  

Rey discovered that the book she held in her hands was the teachings of the very first matriarch and founder of the Dathomir witches, Allya. It consisted of the laws she set to govern the clan and her daughters as well as the foundations that she laid out to increased their strength and keep them safe from harm.

 

_'Those who suffer emotion will never enjoy peace._

_Those who choose ignorance will never know their own greatness._

_Those who yield to passion will fail to dominate._

_Those who fear death will never achieve pure power._

_Never forget that your magic must always be used wisely._

_Never concede to evil, lest you be consumed by it'_

 

She read the code of the Dathomir's warrior witches carefully absorbing each sentence and trying to understand. They sounded almost like riddles but it picked her interest, her curiosity about them and Allya. She wanted to know more about her, _the conquering Queen of Dathomir_.

Skimming the rest of the book for a few minutes trying to find more information regarding the matriarch but the rest of the book was filled with spells and instructions of combat. Putting the book down Rey looked through the other texts until she found a book of records. It contained history and background of every Nightsister's clan matriarch that ever existed in the last 500 years, including the all mother, Allya who they worshiped.

She learnt that the Nightsister's clan was one of a dozen that branched out from the original clan which Allya formed in the beginning. There was an extensive family tree and it also included a short history and background of the said warrior, the original matriarch. 

 

Rey let go of the breath she was holding as she read the next passage, her eyes widening from the revelation.

 

Allya was an  _exiled Jedi knight_  who was banished to Dathomir for practicing the dark side of the force and becoming a dark Jedi as a result. Because the Jedi Code respected all life, the Council members did not execute the offender and so they exiled the rogue Allya, hoping that primitive isolation would force her to reflect on her Master's teachings and return to the light. 

The council was aware that it was a harsh planet with savage and rugged forests, which were infested with dangerous man eating reptilian creatures called the Rancors. It was also a place that served as a penal colony for some of the Galactic Republic's worst criminals. Knowing all this the Council still chose to banish her there.

 _How cruel_ thought Rey frowning and _hypocritical_ because they may have not executed her but doomed her all the same to a certain fate on a primitive planet where monsters were at the top of the food chain.

Upon her arrival at Dathomir, Allya discovered that the planet's inhabitants did not only consist of the criminals that were banished but also the descendants of Human warriors and droid engineers incarcerated by the extinct Paecian Empire. 

Allya used the Force to tame the feral rancors and to subjugate the inhabitants, as well as any other desperate life forms. Once in command, she established a matriarchal society with a genetic Force component and where men had little to no power. In time, Allya had many daughters and taught each one, along with other women, the ways of the Force or as they called it the 'Magick'. They drew and channelled their power from the planet itself as it emitted the dark side of the Force more prominently due to the harsh conditions of Dathomir.   

This new society filled with female rancor tamers who used totems and incantations to generate their 'Magick' became known as _ the Witches of Dathomir. _

Over time, after the death of Allya, the witches of Dathomir divided into a number of distinct clans due to the power struggle between Allya's elder daughters and therefore these clans dispersed themselves across Dathomir.

 

Feeling her eyes droop from exhaustion Rey carefully put the books onto the bedside table along with the candle. Turning off the lights and getting under the covers on top of the bed, she turned towards the candle watching the flame dance softly. She imagined what it would have been like to be a witch of Dathomir or a Nightsister, a strong independent warrior, fearless and brave leader. She admired the strong Allya for overcoming such trials, of being left behind on a harsh planet and instead of succumbing, thriving. She felt a kinship towards the woman to some extent as she too had been left alone on a desolate planet to fend for herself. Admiration for her courage, for all the things she achieved with her own strength and wit bloomed in Rey’s chest. _I want to be strong like her_ and with that thought she blew at the flame extinguishing it.

 

Later while lying in bed Maul realised what that gesture from earlier meant, she did it to try to comfort him.  _What a strange child..._ the notion brought on a foreign twinge in his chest, frowning he turned over banishing all thought from his mind and finally willing himself to sleep.

 

Rey dreamt of the marshlands that covered the planet of Dathomir. It was dark with only the twin moons in the sky as the only source of light. She walked carefully through the dense foliage with thick mist hanged heavily in the surrounding area making it hard to see. She could smell the distinct musky swamp air.

Finally, some of the mist seemed to dispense and she could make out the towering fortress of the Nightsister’s clan with its heavily armoured gates open, however the problem that she faced now was the murky water which lay between her and the gates like a barrier. A second later she noticed there were rocks like stepping stones scattered above the water. _She could jump across!_ But looking down at the swap water made her pause. It was dark as night Rey thought nervously. Who knew what it concealed below its unnaturally still waters or what hid in its depths lying in wait for its next prey? And as if her thoughts summoned the creature, it emerged with a deep feral growl a few meters to the left of her.

It was a terrifying towering hulk of muscle and reptilian flesh with disproportionately long arms. A salivating, tooth-filled maw dominated its flat face as its glowing sinister eyes suddenly fell on her. Without thinking she jumped across the stepping stones as fast as she could go, adrenaline pumping thickly through her veins. She knew that if she just made it to the gates she would be safe.

The great beast tried to lunge at her as soon as she dashed across the stones with its teeth and claws bared in attack but barely missed her. Rey felt the air rush past her in a strong gash caused by the creature’s leap which almost made her waver. She pressed on without looking back, knowing that the beast would soon recover from its miss and try to lunge at her again. It bellowed a deafening roar in its frustration while turning and trying to charge at its prey again. _Just one more step, almost there!_ Rey screamed in her mind as she leaped across with all her might through the gates and as she passed the threshold the gates flew to close shut just as the beast threw itself against the closed gates making the doors shake. The beast thrashed against the gates violently but the great doors held firm and as soon as it began it ended, everything going eerily silent suddenly.

Rey was doubled over clutching her knees as she panted from exertion. Cold sweat clang to her brow as realisation dawned on her in regards to what just transpired and would have become of her if she slipped up even once.

Regaining her breath she straightens and looks around the desolate grounds until her eyes land on the temple and she feels her shoulders relax. Transfixed by its glowing fire she walked towards it like a moth to a flame and as she came closer Rey could make out a silhouette of a person standing in the heart of the entrance. She felt the hair on the back of her neck stand. _But there were no survivors..._

The woman that stood before her at the top of the temple’s steps was _beautiful._

Her dark locks cascaded down her shoulders in waves like a waterfall and she held the most striking grey eyes that Rey has ever seen, it was like looking into the heart of a storm. The light from the twin fires made the woman’s skin glow softly and in that moment she was the image of a warrior goddess. Rey stared at her in awe without blinking, eyes wide and mouth gone dry.

The warrior benevolently smiled down upon the young girl before she spoke evenly.

“You have passed the test. Welcome to Dathomir, Rey Kenobi. I am Allya.”

 

Rey is awakened by the shouts of her master standing outside her door telling her to rise and get ready for the first day of training.

Startled from being woken so suddenly in the middle of her deep sleep she rolls in alarm and falls off the bed in a comical heap.

She _couldn’t wait_ to get started...Rey thought moodily.

 As she sprang up quickly to get ready for the day she couldn’t get the dream out of her mind. She has never had _such a vivid dream_ before.

 

* * *

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *shakes tin can bashfully for comments and kudos for encouragement* :-)
> 
> I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! I'm trying to stick to most the canon of star wars and star wars legend but do diverge quite a bit in some parts. If you have any questions please ask! :-)
> 
> I want to develop the characters before jumping in with the Reylo goodness so please be patient with me! :D
> 
> I'm also trying to update regularly every 5-7 days if i can :-)
> 
> Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Let me know :-) constructive criticism is always good! (puts on a helmet and jumps into the trenches for cover) XD


	4. Daughter of Dathomir

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Maul starts Rey’s training on his home planet Dathomir. Unbeknownst to them the spirits of the massacred Nightsisters still linger in the temple and the decimated village along with a much older entity.

* * *

 

“You have passed the test. Welcome to Dathomir, Rey Kenobi. I am Allya.”

 

* * *

 

 

As Rey rushed around the hut trying to get ready, doing up her hair in her signature three buns, she heard a knock on the door followed by Deenine’s voice asking for permission to enter.

"Come in!" She shouted from the other end of the room. 

"Good morning Rey, I've brought you your breakfast" Deenine said amusedly after seeing the young apprentice run around the hut like a headless chicken trying to get ready. She hopped trying to put on her boots and almost tumbled over. 

"Breakfast?" Rey exclaimed excitedly with her stomach rumbling once she got a whiff of the delicious smelling breakfast. Regular meals were a huge novelty to her, as there was no such thing on Jakku, _one ate when one_ _could_.

"Of course, you cannot start a day without proper nourishment." Deenine proceeded to pull out the low table under her bed and positioning it in the middle of the hut on top of the heavy patterned carpet with cushions as seats. Lowering the tray he served her hearty porridge with fruit and earthy smelling tea. Rey hurriedly sat on one of the cushions, eyes wide and mouth salivating. She quickly reached out for the bowl that contained her porridge and proceeded to eat with her hands, which horrified Deenine. 

Stopping her onslaught after seeing his shocked reaction, cheeks flushing she apologised and lowered the bowl onto the table. A hard habit to overcome because all she knew is what she taught herself, she had little instruction from her previous master, least of all table manners. So she listened to Deenine intently and tried to take it on board. 

"Where is master?" She questioned curiously while she sipped her tea, which was a little bitter but not unpleasant. 

"He prefers to eat in seclusion undisturbed"

"Oh." This knowledge saddened Rey a little, it wasn't as if she expected them to share every meal together but she secretly hoped that they would as they did while travelling to Dathomir. Nevertheless she was glad for Deenine's company despite the fact that he was a droid and didn't eat humanoid food.

"Thank you for the food, it was delicious!" Chirped Rey with a smile. 

"You are welcome, Rey." Deenine answered fondly. 

 

Maul stood in a clearing, away from the huts, in a black loose fitted kimono style shirt with a belt holding it in place, dark trousers and heavy combat boots. He turned to look at his apprentice as she approached him wearily. 

"Good morning master."

This was the first time she saw him without the hood or his cape obscuring most of him from view. The crown of horns on his head made him look demonic and that much more intimidating. The extensive network of tattoos that covered his face extended down his neck and forearms which looked both menacing and beautiful at the same time. She wanted to ask how he got them but the strict look he sent her silenced her immediately.

"We will start with building your stamina, strength and endurance. In the morning you will be doing drills, afternoon will consist of learning battle theory and education of many subjects, evenings will be sparing and will finish with meditation." His military tone of voice left no room for argument and all she could do was nod her head like a little soldier.

Without much ceremony he got into position and told her to follow his lead and copy his movements. 

 

He was strict and perhaps a little harsh at times but never cruel. 

By the time lunch rolled round she was exhausted, panting and sweating from exertion of doing the drills but she never complained, not once.This was born from her rough life on Jakku, because when she fell there was no one there to pick her back up, people just walked passed as if she was invisible and insignificant, so she learnt to get back up with her own strength. When she got hurt she only had herself to rely on. It was long and tough three years and at that point almost half her meagre little life.

 _I want to get stronger_  she thought with determination as she observed her master. She wanted to prove that she wasn't _insignificant nor invisible_  but  _worthy_  of other's attention. 

 

She was malnourished but it was nothing that a good diet would not fix. 

Where her stamina lacked her endurance made up for it. She was clumsy and had no clue but the determination burned in her eyes. Never complaining no matter how hard he pushed her. Maul could read her like an open book, strong and untrained in the Force as she was her thoughts rang out loudly in his mind.  _Insignificant and invisible_  he thought of her words and something echoed inside him. 

That is how his former master treated him and disposed of him in the end when Palpatine decided that Maul had served his purpose, when he found a better  _replacement_. Anger and hatred welled up in his chest like anew, burning and all consuming making his eyes glow amber. The ground around him split from the sheer force of darkness that welled up in him, which made Rey stumble backwards crying out in alarm. Her voice snapped him out of his trance and he turned to look at her little form on the ground winded, eyes weary. 

Wordless he extends his hand without breaking eye contact. Rey's eyes widen and she stares at his hand in wonder for a moment before looking back up at him, his eyes calm and mouth set in a hard line. Without hesitation she reaches out to grasp his hand in a tight grip and he pulls her up. 

 

Deenine approached them with water containers as their lesson came to an end.

Rey drunk deeply feeling very parched. The droid chastised Rey gently, to drink slower or she might choke. 

After catching her breath Rey observed the ground for a moment looking thoughtful.

"Were you a Jedi too?" She asked innocently. 

Maul chocked on the water he drunk, coughing violently and almost wheezing. After what felt like an age he managed to compose himself and looked at her sharply.

"What in the world gave you that idea?" He muttered darkly, frowning.

"Well...you are a descendent of a Jedi knight and you said that you fought alongside my grandfather." 

Awkward silence hang in the air before unexpectedly Deenine guffawed, laughing so hard he lost a bolt. If looks could kill there would be nothing left of the droid, from the severe look Maul threw him, which silenced Deenine immediately thereafter. 

"I am no Jedi"

Maul stood silently for a minute contemplating his next words carefully.

"Your grandfather and I didn't see eye to eye for a long time. We were never friends, but...the last time we parted ways, we didn't part as enemies either." Was Mauls gruff enigmatic reply to Rey's question. 

He must have been recounting their history in his mind as an almost nostalgic look passed his face momentarily before settling into a neutral state. 

It only left Rey with more questions, curious to know what history they shared. 

Before she could ask any more questions he barked for her to go eat prior her next lesson, which Deenine would be supervising. 

 

"Knowledge is power" Deenine recited to Rey. Children were truly extraordinary creatures thought the droid, marvelling at how eager and how quickly Rey absorbed information. Maul was very much the same at her age, he remembered. 

"What do you know about the Nightsister's clan and the other Dathomiri witch clans?" Inquired curious Rey, thinking back to the books she found in her hut and her vivid dream. Deenine not surprised by her sudden question told her of what he knew, much of which was what she found in the books except one thing.

"Years later after the disbanding of the first daughters of Allya and many years after Allya's death, the Nightsister's clan was formed by the exiled Dathomir witches. Who were banished from their respective clans for favouring and practising the Dark side of the Force, also known as the forbidden Night Spells.

The Nightsister's stayed true to the ideals and teachings of the first matriarch Allya from her earlier years as a conqueror and a Dark Jedi warrior."

This new information gave Rey much to ponder about but at the forefront being this mystical thing called the Force. She new the basics, which she learnt from the priest on Jakku, Lor San Tekka. The dark side and the light side of the Force, the opposing sides forever locked in a never ending battle for dominance but ultimately forever seeking the unattainable _balance_. 

 

After her lesson with Deenine she had a short break before her next lesson with her master. Her feet taking her to the temple without much thought. She stood in front of the entrance for a moment remembering the beautiful stranger that stood at the top of the stairs in her dream. She said her name was Allya. Such a vivid dream was difficult to fabricate, which made Rey remember the time she dreamt of Maul finding her on Jakku long before he appeared. _Was it the same?_ Did she dream of the future? But how can that be if the said warrior was long dead?

Before she knew it she was climbing the steps and entering the eerie temple. It was cool despite the warm weather outside. Dark but smooth marble lined the floors with tall pillars scattered evenly around the deep cave. The light shining in from the entrance was not the only source of light as Rey discovered. There was a spring that flowed from the inside of the mountain, its blue water glowed, illuminating the deep cave softly. It was beautiful.

The young girl stood in awe observing her surroundings until she felt a tingling on her neck, the feeling one got when being watched. Turning sharply she looked around until Rey’s eyes landed on the altar with a human size statue, a statue of a woman she _recognised_ , the one she saw in her dreams. A spear clutched in one hand and the other extended with the palm up. Walking closer to it she observed the outstretched hand, which didn’t look quite right as if something was missing. There was a small indentation that would be easily missed if not looked at closely. Studying the altar she saw multiple white thick candles around the statue’s feet, some fallen on their side. Rey picked up the fallen candles to put them back in place and in doing so a thin necklace with a delicate black purl slipped from inside one of the candles. Picking it up Rey admired the simple yet beautiful jewel before realising that this must have been what was missing from the statue’s hand and so she stood and placed it back carefully where it belonged. As she took a step back a strange feeling she could not name passed over her, the air rapidly grew colder.

She did not feel alone in this empty temple. Rey felt like somebody or _something_ came to stand on either side of her yet she could not see them. Panic rose in her chest and so she turned and run, as fast as her little feet could carry her, out of the temple without looking back.

 

It seemed that her master and Deenine didn’t notice her short absence, which made her a little relieved as she wasn’t sure if she was allowed inside of the temple or not.

 

"The art of Teräs Käsi is about control and mastery of one's self." Maul explained as their lesson began. 

Rey learnt that it translated to 'steel hand' in basic, it was discipline of unarmed combat.

Deenine later explained to her that it was created by the refugees of the planet Palawa, which was devastated in a war involving the Jedi Council. The followers of Palawa created Teräs Käsi solely to be able to fight the Jedi and presumably to ensure that another world would never be destroyed by the actions of the Jedi Council. They also studied the Force even though they themselves were not necessarily Force-sensitive, which is why it became so effective in combat. In addition, Teräs Käsi taught non-Force-sensitives how to close their minds to Jedi and Sith alike, thus protecting themselves from mental attacks.

All this information was overwhelming and Rey found herself questioning the actions of the Jedi council. Weren’t they meant to be the _good guys_? The more she learnt the more she doubted. It was not as black or white as the priests on Jakku painted. It was much more complicated than that. Too complex for her young mind to yet grasp properly.

 

"Teräs Käsi enables the user to develop extreme speed and an aptitude for anticipating strikes." 

Rey observed her master as he demonstrated. His skill was truly impressive and didn't fail to awe her. He moved fluidly as if weightless, almost like the two elements combined, water and air. 

Getting into the first formation he motioned for her to copy.

 

"Meditation helps you focus and reflect. It solidifies what you have learnt. It gives your mind time to catch up with your body. Additionally, the body can remember things that the mind had once forgotten. It's called muscle memory." Maul lectured Rey.

"Stop fidgeting and keep still. Eyes closed. Now, I want you to reach out with your mind." he barked instructions as he paced slowly in front of her with arms crossed. 

Her face contorts into different forms of concentration, every new facial expression more comical than the last until her face starts going red from exertion looking as if constipated. The scene makes Maul almost cackle uncharacteristically.

"Eeerrrr...what am I doing?" asked baffled Rey with childish irritation after some time of just sitting there looking stupid. 

Maul has to cough before continuing, as to push down the amusement. 

"You are opening your senses to your surroundings and in turn you open your mind. Listen and feel to the world around you and try to reach further."

Apprehensively she tried to follow his instructions. It is difficult at first and she doesn't feel anything happening until something reaches back grasping her mind and pulls. Suddenly she can hear the birds soaring in the sky above, the beasts growling in the bordering swampland. 

Then it pulls her further down taking her underground, the earth below. She feels the life and the death integrated together like interwoven thread. 

It steadily gets cold and colder still, her skin being pulled tight with goose bumps from the coolness she feels with her mind.

What the mind experiences the body reciprocates. The cold she felt wasn't entirely unpleasant but held tentative promise. 

She is pulled towards the ground under the old temple where the remains of the fallen Nightsisters rest. 

As her mind wonders closer she starts to hear faint disorderly whispering. 

The whispers becoming clearer the closer she gets. 

_'A daughter'_

' _Daughter'_

_'A new daughter'_

_'Has come'_

_'A new daughter has come'_

The whispers become frantic and grow louder, until she hears her master’s stern voice firmly calling out to her.

"Rey."

And all of a sudden she gets pulled back into reality. It felt as if she was waking up from a trance.

"That was satisfactory for your first try." his gruff voice helped her focus as she came to. It was like a haze, that clouded her mind, being lifted and all she could do was nod dumbly in response.

"I heard whispering." he turns to her when she utters those words, expectantly.

"Women's voices...saying that 'a new daughter has come.'"

His eyes widen at her revelation and he looks thoughtful. 

"The Nightsister's spirits see you and they recognise you...as their own...as the new daughter of Dathomir."

Her gut clenches with unfamiliar feeling. Rey is unsure how to feel about his words but her chest feels a little full and her throat a little tight, vision blurring slightly. Setting her trembling lips into a thin line, eyes blinking back the moisture she nods in gratitude.

 

As she fell asleep that night utterly exhausted and boneless she now understood and could name the thing that was always there, inside of her. _The Force._

 

She dreamt again that night. Standing in front of the temple she hesitated going in. Steeling herself she willed her feet to move, she wanted _answers_ and she knew innately that she would get them there.

As she entered the temple she saw the Nightsister’s coven of witches with Allya at the forefront standing by the spring beckoning her to come closer.

She walked towards them wearily.

“Welcome Rey Kenobi” Allya greeted once more kneeling and reaching out her hand to grasp Rey’s.

“By placing the talisman back you have helped to restore our connection to the world of the living. That was a selfless thing you did Rey, as most would have kept it for themselves.” Unable to formulate any coherent words due to the shock of the situation Rey could only nod shyly.

“You are strong in the way of the Force and able to pass into the shadow world easily, that is why we are able to meet. This world is the in-between of the living and the dead.” Explained the Nightsister standing to the left of Allya. Looking at her closely Rey saw a resemblance to one of the other statues at the entrance of this temple as well as the one standing on Allya’s right. They were the past matriarchs who formed the Nightsister’s clan. Arya and Eris stood proudly by their ancestor whom they resembled strongly, along with eight others.

“We will teach you to master both the dark and the light. To find balance in both, as it always should be, because one cannot exist without the other.”

"Nightsisters know the dark side better than anyone. We grow up steeped in it, but we can use it as a tool and stay ourselves unlike the Sith. That balance is what you must learn." Spoke another.

They never let themselves become evil, as being consumed by the dark side of the Force can twists your mind.

The group of women told her their stories, their history, their legacy and Rey listened intently.

In the past the young women aspiring to join the ranks of the Nightsisters first had to use the Dark side to subdue a powerful, strong-willed creature living in the depths of the pools in the village known as the Sleeper, and bring back a part of its body. The harvested remains would then be converted into the Water of Life, a major component of Nightsister magicks. Any initiate who gave into their fear would be dragged down into the depths and killed.

This horrified Rey and she realised she encountered one of those beast just before she met Allya. By not letting fear consume her she was able to get away and in turn passed the initial test of will.

It was not until the birth of her granddaughters that Allya saw the error of her ways, turning her own sons into slaves and teaching her daughters how to use the Force to achieve power. Using her strong influence over her offspring, she spent the rest of her days instructing her daughters in the ways of the light side and ending the enslavement of men. Before her death, to ensure her daughters practiced their magic in a safe and sane manner, Allya wrote The Book of Law, which she based off some of the Jedi Code. 

A mixture of the Dark and the Light side of the Force.

Each clan had their own copy of the Book of Law. Although the message in each book was based on Allya's original message, each clan added its own discoveries and spells to their own copy. Some clans even took Allya's original message and replaced it with various interpretations, one such example being the Nightsister's Book of Shadows. They favoured the Dark side of the Force and enslaved their male counterparts, the Nightbrothers. They lived apart from the Nightsister's clan whose only use was to serve the sisters as servants and breeders.

This information made Rey turn red, which emitted a chuckle from the sisters.

“We made mistakes and it cost us dearly.” A tall woman with a painted face spoke solemnly raising her hands to rest them on Rey’s tiny shoulders before continuing “My son will look after you little one.” In that moment Rey realised that this was the last Nightsister’s matriarch, her master’s _mother._

 

Every individual had a past, some more dark than others but nothing is ever just black or white, as she came to learn and understand. You cannot just simply categorise everything as _‘good’_ or _‘bad’_. There are layers of complexity in everyone's persona, their soul, their history, their legacy.

Everyone has history and sometimes that history, either good or bad, was inherited by the next generation like a blessing or a curse.

Like the Nightsisters, like herself.

 

The Jedi and the Sith were two extremes, two sides of the same coin. Jedi forgo their humanity for the sake of others, while the Sith relish in their humanity selfishly. So she had to find the balance in between, they will guide her.

 

Despite Maul's earlier doubts he could see her potential growing day by day. 

He was pleased with her progression. 

The former Sith could feel it innately and in the ripples of the Force around her that she would surpass him without a doubt. 

 

And so the years passed, faster than expected. 

 

* * *

 

_Nothing is ever black or white._

 

* * *

 

*shakes tin can bashfully for comments and kudos for encouragement* :-)

I hope you have enjoyed this chapter! I'm trying to stick to the canon of star wars and star wars legend but do diverge quite a bit in some parts. If you have any questions please ask! :-)

This is the final chapter before our star crossed lovers meet ;-). I'm going for epic! Hopefully you will think so too! >:D

I will also include Maul and Obi-wan's history that Rey is so curious to find out in the next chapter \\(>.< )/

Liked it? Loved it? Hated it? Let me know :-) constructive criticism is always good! (puts on a helmet and jumps into the trenches for cover) XD 


	5. Past History

 

* * *

  

Rey trains tirelessly under Maul and Deenine. Sparing and learning from them both diligently. Maul does not limit her just to the Sith teachings but to the Jedi fighting forms too, so that she can rise above them and develop her own fighting style, to be _superior_. He was able to do this due to the Jedi holocron he had in his possession. This helped to build on what he remembered from his observations of Obi-wan’s skill and their battles from years ago.

Allya and the Nightsisters taught her their magick, how to cloak her presence, how to control and hone the light and the dark side of the force and use it to her advantage, but to never let it consume her lest it cloud her judgement and twist her mind. They teach her their fighting style, which also derived from the Jedi.

Additionally, Maul taught her how to use the force to coerce others to her will, to compel them to do her bidding without them realising it. Mind tricks to interrogate as well as protect one’s mind from intrusion of other Force-sensitive opponents. This is where he underestimated her raw talent and in turn it reaped its own consequences. She breached the deepest parts of his mind, the parts he thought were guarded well but not well enough. In hindsight he should have prepared better, as letting her practise on him carried its own risks.

At 12 years of age her power tripled compared to what it was at 7. She ripped through his mind gracelessly but knew what information she sought and so she took it ruthlessly.

 

* * *

 

Maul wanted to end both the Sith and the Jedi. For the Sith have killed his family, and replaced him with Vader. The Darth who would bring the galaxy to their knees, a destiny he felt was taken from him.

As for the Jedi, they were natural born enemies and therefore no other reason was required, it was enough.

Nevertheless, he held a personal grudge against one _particular_ Jedi knight.

 _Obi-wan Kenobi_

Having miraculous survived his duel with him, surviving on his anger alone by using the dark side of the force to tether him to the world of the living.

Maul was later able to acquired mechanical legs after being eventually found by his brother who was sent in search for him by their mother, the last matriarch of the Nightsister’s coven.

Regaining purpose of vengeance once more to only have it slip through his fingers yet again.

Failing to kill his nemesis and his former master at the cost of losing his family brought him to almost the brink of insanity. Maul has lost _everything_ and most of all he has lost his purpose.

He drifted in the shadows as a hired assassin for years trying to find some solace in mindless killing, but no matter how many he slaughtered there was _never enough blood._ Eventually it was all futile because no matter how many times he imagined his targets to be the enemies he wished to end by his hand it was not _them_. He subconsciously prayed for numbness and for the all consuming void in his chest to be sealed.

He wanted to be free of this pain.

Scenes of his family murdered in front of him played in his mind’s eye relentlessly. Palpatine killing his brother in front of him subsequent to their failed attempt of killing his former master, and his mother sacrificing herself to allow for him to escape, saving him.

Gaining his family after being ripped away from them so many years ago to only loose them again _tore him apart._

Until one day, by chance he stumbles upon information that after so long wondering the galaxy aimlessly gives him resolve. His nemesis Obi-wan Kenobi  _lives_ , thinking him dead initially, killed in action. He sets his course to a desolate planet in the outer rim, Tatooine.  

 _Tatooine_  of all places! He couldn’t believe it. Laughing humourlessly to himself he couldn’t fathom as to  _why_ the knight would choose  _that_  planet but it didn’t matter because he would fall by his hand... 

 _...At last_. 

The former Sith lord finally seeks out one of the last Jedi knights. 

The anticipation has been building since he found out that  _he_ _lived_.

The one that has cut him down, the reason why he was half machine and the very first fight he has ever lost. The darkness in his heart, a dark beast, which thrashed and stalked back and forth inside of him, demanded his blood. It savagely clawed for  _revenge._ His eyes glowed a deathly yellow in the night. 

Finally confronting his old nemesis he found Kenobi much changed. The light within him wasn't so bright any longer and Maul saw a great spark of darkness within him. The former Sith smirked mirthlessly at the fallen from grace Jedi knight. It would seem that the loss of the only woman he ever loved, his pupil and friend has left a gaping wound in the man. 

Sitting on a log before a fire with his hood hanging low, which cast a shadow on Kenobi's face made him look severe. Obi-wan knew who he was without looking up to confirm it. He felt his dark force signature way before he appeared before him. The knight felt the darkness cloaking Maul, he could tell that it has diminished from the loss of his legs, which was due to the fact that the force moved within all living beings. Maul was half machine now. The former Darth’s force signature wasn't as heavy nor grave a presence as it once was.   

Kenobi did not want to fight Maul.  

Maul sneered at the knight, infuriated by Obiwan's lack of aggression, despite the fact that it was by  _his_   _hand_  that his lover and master fell.  

Maul charged at him with his double edged lightsabre. It was an intense fight but he could not get the upper hand. He fought ferociously but the Jedi knight still ended up disarming him and knocking him to the ground.  

Maul lay on the cold ground defeated and injured waiting for the final blow, which never came. 

Kenobi told him that he wouldn’t give Maul the satisfaction of a duel to the death. He believed that death would be a mercy he would not grant him because he deserved to suffer the consequences of his past actions.   

Scoffing at the fallen from grace Jedi he berated the man, trying to bait him but he would not take the bait and left him lying there on the ground. It took Maul great effort to stand and retreat. He vowed that it wasn’t over.  

He came back the following night to only be defeated once again. And so it continued every night for a week and each time Maul walked away more and more frustrated. He couldn’t, no he wouldn’t admit defeat.  _Never._  

Maul came to stand across the fire once again. He glowered at the Jedi roaring, 

“ _Why?!”_

Maul demanded to know as to why Obi-wan didn't want to kill him to gain revenge? Obi-wan stared at the roaring fire for a long time before saying that it would change  _nothing_. It would not bring back the people he has killed. It was pointless to him now.  

The knight also knew of the metaphorical knife that he twisted in Maul’s gut because of his words, which gave him some sadistic satisfaction seeing the former Sith slowly driving himself mad. 

Seething Maul stared down the knight and mulled over his words. This man sitting before him confused Maul and Maul felt his anger slowly ebbing away. He saw a reflection of himself in him.  

They lost important people to them.  

They lost their purpose and in turn lost everything. 

They had the same eyes. Solemn, resigned to this fate. An understanding of sorts was reached between the two.  

Maul understood. 

Scoffing at the Jedi he berated the man, trying to bait him again but it wouldn’t work. 

“Your anger blinds you and hinders you.” Obi-wan tells him. 

“Anger is what makes me strong. It is what helped me to survive!” Maul almost shouts at him. 

“It is also what makes you  _weak_.”  

Maul sneers at the Jedi, being utterly dissatisfied by the turn of events and his nemesis’s words, he stalks away into the darkness. 

Despite being polar opposites Maul realised that both Sith and the Jedi were two sides of the same coin.  

Both arrogant and self-righteous.  

Arrogance, which brought the demise of the Jedi order in the same way it has brought Mauls downfall.  

The following week Maul keeps away from the Jedi mulling over his words, going through and studying the Sith texts and holocrons he acquired as well as the one of the Jedi. He also recounts the words of his mother and the Nightsisters.

‘Do not concede to evil of the dark side lest it consume you and cloud your judgement’.  

The Jedi were all about defence and using the opponents strength against them, while the Sith were all about offence. 

“Why do you keep returning?” the knight asks him somewhat dejectedly one night.  

“Who else am I going to fight with? The farmers? Hardly a challenge.” He scoffs at the Jedi while they circle each other. Their duel commences but it’s no longer a fight to the death and more of a tense spar between rivals.  

They fight once a week and it goes on for a couple of months. The only exercise either of them get on that desolate planet, mused Obi-wan.  

Maul used his newly acquired skills and tested them against Obi-wan. It took time but eventually they fought on par. Toe to toe.  

Obi-wan recognised some of the stances that Maul used and confronted him regarding it.

“The Jedi aren’t completely useless after all.” Was Maul’s enigmatic reply.

Despite losing most of the animosity towards the Jedi knight he still felt contempt towards him. 

Arriving to the same spot for their usual match Maul sees a gang of the Sand people surrounding Obi-wan. A dark look passes Maul’s face as the gang advanced towards the knight despite his requests for them to leave him be. Maul scoffs at hearing the Jedi’s ‘request’ thinking him a fool.

 _No one_ was allowed to kill the Jedi but _him_ so as soon as the fight breaks out Maul charges forward without hesitation. 

Obi-wan was surprised to see Maul come to his side but kept the question to himself for the time being as there was a fight at hand.  

Once it’s over Maul turns towards the knight and raises an eyebrow in question, what did he do to gain the gangs attention? Obi-wan only scoffed in response before he tells him vaguely that he helped a farmer get his stolen possessions back.  

“Aren’t you the ever unwavering knight in shining armour?” Maul mocked ridiculing the Jedi, words full of sarcasm.

After 6 months Maul parts with the Jedi knight unknowingly for the last time and goes back to his home planet Dathomir. Finally ready to seek out a worthy apprentice as well as silence the pull in his chest that demanded he return and visit his family’s grave. 

He wanted to train someone to be better than him to hone their power and raise them to be the perfect assassin to take out the Sith once and for all. Palpetine and Vader had it coming for a long time. If all his failures and his time on Tatooine have taught him anything it was _patience._  Through Kenobi Maul learnt that you cannot always change your fate but you can rise to meet it.

Maul wasn't born evil, as no one comes into this world full of hate, it is something taught. He learnt from an early age what rage and vengeance was after being recruited and twisted by Palpatine. However, he never killed children and neither was he a true sadist like his former master was.

Kenobi died at the hands of Vader. When Maul learns of this his hate for Vader renewed tenfold. 

He couldn't call the old Jedi master an ally nor his true enemy any more because somehow the time on Tatooine, taking out their aggression on each other brought some semblance of balance to them once more. Not quite peace but purpose renewed. Therefore he had played his hand in the downfall of the Empire. He never outright joined any organisation. He would never join the useless Rebellion but he became a dark vigilante and his assassinations have tipped the scales against the Empire. Keeping to the shadows he bade his time, preparing for the ultimate battle against the Darth who took his place.

His time in exile was also spent searching for Holocrons of both the Sith and the Jedi. He took away knowledge from both, as he felt that it would give him the best odds when the time came, for Vader was a master in both fighting styles and was raised a Jedi.

Unfortunately vengeance escaped his grasp once again. Kenobi's apprentice Luke Skywalker, dealt his hand in defeating Palpatine with Vader dying in the process. The Darth sacrificed himself to save his only son.

Maul raved and raged for days when he found out, all his careful planning and scheming wasted and now meaningless. Although a part of him knew that he would not be the one to end Vader or Palpatine because Maul was fully aware just whom Kenobi protected on Tatooine. The chosen one. He felt it through the force.

In time he made peace with it, as ultimately the empire has fallen and the Sith with it, despite it being not by his hands, but it was _done._

And so the former Darth continued his search for an apprentice to pass on his legacy and once they surpassed him they would give him the honourable death in battle he so craved, to find peace at last.

You cannot always change your fate but you can rise to meet it.

 

* * *

 

Rey flew across the ground, hitting it hard. Winded she picked herself up to look at her Master who returned her stare wearily.

Having ripped memories of her grandfather from him rendered her immobile and once he managed to push her out of his head he Force pushed her to break the connection. Rey did not know how to react to what she now knew. It was like her mind was in the heart of a big storm and she couldn’t think clearly. Happy to have finally seen the face of her grandfather, mad to have found that her master has killed her grandmother, disturbed at all the horrors she has seen through his eyes and all the people he has killed. She was torn and did not know what to make of him and so she run as fast as her feet could take her to the only place she could find solace.

He let her go, knowing that she needed time and space.

Rey sat by Allya’s statue in the cool temple recalling all that she saw.

There was much darkness within her grandfather but the difference between her master and him was that he never let himself be consumed by it.

'Do not concede to evil lest you be consumed by it' the words of Allya and the witches of Dathomir rang out in her mind.

Do not let it consume you...

Rey wrestled with her despair and the dark rage that bloomed in her chest at the knowledge of her master’s suffering and his unjust ordeals with her kin.

To her he was the closest thing that came to a father figure and she found it hard to truly hate him but her trust in him wavered.

He has taught her all she knew but how could she trust him after this?

“Miss Rey?” called out Deenine, his robotic voice echoing in the expansive chambers of the deep temple.

Rey sat silently for a moment before she called out to him in response and Deenine moved to sit by her.

Silence stretched for a few minutes. He waited for her to speak, he could see she was trying to formulate sentences in her head by the intense expression on her face.

He came to console her because his master could not.

He came to try and make her understand because his master did not know how.

Despite all the bad history that there may have been between individuals or held by a person, that said person can still be redeemed and that no one is ever truly gone. He speaks from experience, from watching Maul’s turbulent fate throughout infancy to adulthood, and how he has subtly changed in the years since Rey has come into his life.

She sits in silence listening to her mentor and a dear friend before lowering her head onto his metallic lap and crying softly.

 

* * *

 

Four more years fly by and she is finally given the final task, the test that every Nightsister has to take if she wishes to join the coven and to prove herself worthy.

She has to subdue a swamp monster, the Rancor.

The adults stood at five meters tall with armored hides that could withstand blaster fire, they were formidable apex predators, known and feared throughout the galaxy.

As Rey walks through the heavy twin gates with conviction in her step, she hears the dark whispers of Arya and Eris, the two warriors that stand by her, through the talisman that hangs around her neck.

 _‘_ _You are the fire that will burn it down,_

_You do not run, you stand your ground,_

_You rise above the ash and give your all,_

_Till the end, never halt,_

_We will bleed with you.’_

Rey feels the fleeting ghost pressure of their hands on her shoulders and like energy their words drive through her and strengthen her resolve further.

 _She will not fail_.

Walking through the marshlands with great care she listened to the surroundings, using all of her senses to guide her. The mist was thick and unyielding.

Then she heard it, the unmistakable deep growl of one of the monster that lurked these harsh lands.

Without warning it charged forward towards her with a deafening roar ready to tare her limb from limb. Its massive jaws wide open showing the jagged sharp teeth, it’s breath like rotting flesh.

Despite being unable to see Rey could feel the exact location of the monster through the force, she moved aside swiftly and it ran past her.

Without missing a beat it turned sharply towards her again and got ready for another giant leap.

Bending the dark side of the force to her will, Rey faced the beast with a determined mind, right hand outstretched towards it with purpose, and in a low voice laced with threat whispered,

“Submit.”

The monster thrashed violently, knocking down trees and tearing the roots from soil in fury. It shook its head trying to resist the compulsion.

It felt like an age but only seconds later the beast goes still and lowers its head in submission to its new master with a low whine emitting deeply through its expansive chest in obedience.  

A slow smile appeared on Rey’s face in satisfaction but she remained cautious and held her concentration, willing it to come forward wordlessly.

 

* * *

 

“It’s been awhile, do you think we should go check up on her?” Deenine walked back and forth in worry while Maul stood tall, arms crossed and facing the gates with determination, brows furrowed.

A smirk graced his face at what he sensed and not a few minutes later Rey arrived on the back of the Dathomir’s apex predator.

He was proud but he’d never tell her that lest she get complacent or so he told himself. He was hard on her at times and trained her tirelessly but he would always acknowledge her accomplishments because he made a vow that he would not be the same as his former master.

 

* * *

  

During the next two years Maul took her off world to other planets to accompany him on missions, minor at first but growing in risk as the time passed.

She met a few of his contacts, the only other people who knew her by face. They were a rowdy bunch and she was surprised that her master worked along side them at all, even though it was infrequently. _They had their uses_ he would gruffly say.

They formed a professional link after he unintentionally saved them from the exploding Scarif, one of imperial bases, where they stole the schematics of the Death Star for the Rebellion.

Maul was on an assassination mission to kill one of the high-ranking Imperial officers. The chaos they created made his mission easier and more difficult at the same time, resulting in having to work with them to be able to escape the planet alive. They crammed into his ship and only made it by the skin of their teeth.

The group called themselves Rogue One and composed of Jyn Erso, a renegade woman who was detained for her crimes against the Empire in her younger years until she was freed by the Rebel Alliance. Rey took to her straight away, she was witty and kind, with had a ‘no nonsense’ attitude. Jyn was also married to Cassian Andor, a Rebel Alliance Captain and Intelligence officer, who couldn’t stand her master, watching them bicker sometimes made Rey want to laugh out loud but she dare not because she knew Maul would reprimand her with drills for a _month_.

Jyn and Cassian’s daughter Kira was five years older than Rey and took to her like a sibling. She worried, Rey knew, about her path along side a master with dark history. But she owed Maul everything and wanted to one day pay him back for taking her out of poverty, clothing her, feeding her and giving her a purpose. She knew that she could never repay what he has done for her but she would try. She would never turn her back on her master who she looked up to like a father.

Rey was tied to him and would never leave him.

Chirrut Îmwe was a blind force sensitive warrior and previously one of the Guardians of the Whills. He was a strange fellow who spoke in riddles at times but was kind and perceptive.

Baze Malbus, a gruff longtime companion of Chirrut Îmwe, also a former Guardian of the Whills, but now a Rebel warrior and mercenary. He was rough around the ages, liked his drink and was highly sarcastic but loyal to a fault. They had good banter and Rey liked the old man.

Bodhi Rook, a former Imperial cargo pilot who defected to the Rebels. A bit of a jittery man whose blood pressure rose dangerously high at any measly sign of danger, which was very comical to watch.

And last but not least K-2SO, a former Imperial enforcer droid who was reprogrammed by Cassian to serve the Rebellion. He was heavily damaged in their mission to steal the schematics of the death star but they managed to put him back together in the end. He and Deenine looked like identical twins and there was much banter between the droids, much to Rey’s amusement.

The group was based and well hid in the lower levels of Coruscant, a city which was also known as the Imperial Center during the Imperial Era. It was a planetary ecumenopolis in the Coruscant system of the Core Worlds, and one of the galaxy's most influential and important planets. Due to its cosmopolitan culture and location at the end of several major trade routes gave it the unofficial designation as the "center" of the galaxy. 

 

* * *

  

Coruscant as magnificent as it was, was a city with hundreds of layers. The wealthy lived at the top and as you went down the levels so did the status of the people that resided there. Despite being the capitol of the galaxy it had much corruption and the black market thrived below its depths undetected, or perhaps it was the arrogance of this so-called ‘great city’ that chose to ignore its existence?

Rey learnt that war was business.

A business that many of the most wealthiest and influential figures in the galaxy had a hand in, those who benefited from death and suffering of other people. 

Companies sold firepower to both of the opposing sides.

‘No hard feelings only business.’ She heard them say as she passed them in disguise.

 

* * *

 

Maul did not deter her from forming bonds, to a point, with the people in Rogue one because sometimes one has to have connections in many different type of places to be able to gain Intel or assistance to operate and complete missions smoothly.

A lone Rancor dies but the pack survives.

Failure was never an option.

 

* * *

 

Maul also had other connections.

Palpatine sent him to an assassin’s school, Orsis academy that was famous for training trackers, spies and assassins, at the age of ten to hone his combat skills without the use of the Force. Maul quickly became the school's top student in the 5 years he was there.

You aren’t meant to form attachments nor make friends, however he did gain an ally.

Kilindi Matako was a Nautolan female, who too was once a slave, until she killed her entire slave family and escaped before being found by the head of the Orsis academy and brought back with him to be trained as an assassin. She was one of the best students along side Maul and they trained together often.

The final test, commanded by his former master, was to slaughter all the members of the academy, however he spared her life, letting her escape without his master’s knowledge.

Many years later, while Maul was drifting without purpose from planet to planet as a hired assassin, she sought him out. Kilindi did not resent him for what he was ordered to do and still held some infatuated attachment to him, to his dismay. It turned out that she rebuilt the Orsis academy since it was destroyed by Maul, but made it more exclusive. She offered Maul to join her but he refused, however they kept contact.

After Rey had passed the Nightsister’s test at the age of 16, one of the places he took her was the Orsis academy. As a favour to Maul, Kilindi agreed to take her on and so Rey was sent there for a week every month up to one year, to hone her skills without the use of the Force and learn new abilities, one of them being a training discipline, which uses movement that was developed from military obstacle course. The aim was to get from one point to another in a complex environment, without assistive equipment and in the fastest and most efficient way possible. It also taught her how to constantly survey her surroundings while on the move.

Additionally, to Maul’s absolute dismay, Kilindi taught Rey how to use her beauty to her advantage as well as camouflage.

After Maul landed his ship on Orsis, coming to retrieve his apprentice, Kilindi was there to see Rey off. She will never forget the look on his face when he saw Rey with make up on and hair done for the first time, the memory of this scene will forever bring amusement to Kilindi in years to come. Like a stern father he told her she looked weird and ordered her to wash it off, much to Rey’s disappointment. It was comical how she whined in complaint, making Kilindi chuckle. 

 

* * *

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry that i took so long to update! And that Kylo and Rey haven't encountered each other yet, this is because this chapter was getting too big and i couldn't fit it all in!  
> This is probably because i added the Rogue One team into the mix on a whim but i couldn't help myself \\(>.<'')/  
> I hope it somehow makes sense still loool?
> 
> Good news is that the next chapter will definitely have our love birds first encounter! So please stay tuned and let me know your thoughts! Good or bad throw them like a potato!! >;D
> 
> Much love xx
> 
> p.s. 'the dark whispers of Arya and Eris' poem was inspired from a song by Drowning Pool - bleed with you. Go listen to it its great! 
> 
> *shakes tin can bashfully for comments and kudos for encouragement* :D  
> Feeeeed my muuuussseeeee \\(@'o'@)/

**Author's Note:**

> Go easy on me I'm shy when it comes to writing but please let me know what you think! :-)
> 
> Shakes tin can bashfully for kudos <3


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